Description:

The basic definition of a multi-grade classroom refers to a student-centered classroom in which students learn across two or more grades and are generally instructed by the same teacher for two or more years. This paper explores the educational viability of multi-grade teaching and whether the process is effective at instructing students. It compares and contrasts the educational performance of students who have been instructed via the method, with those in traditional educational classes, in standardized testing, social development, reading and writing. The paper also explores the impacts that the process may have on younger students versus older students. It is the contention of this paper that multi-grade education is an equally effective means of teaching America's youth, with similar results, lesser financial burden, and more opportunity for improvement as the process is learned and perfected by teachers.

From the Paper:

"Another factor that has proven beneficial to the classroom is the diversity and knowledge that multiage classrooms can bring. Not unlike in grade-based classrooms, each student in a multiaged classroom is at a distinct level in their educational development and progression. However, that fact is not a hindrance, but the primary benefit of a multiaged classroom in which the students are ideally taught under a curriculum that fosters and utilizes these differences to help students at both ends of the spectrum. The process not only helps the children recognize that everyone is at a different level, but it also helps students accept this fact and helps to ease the competitive nature of classrooms where students are all expected to adhere to the same academic performance standards."